USBC: You were recently promoted to the executive level in charge of USBC tournaments. What does it mean to fill the shoes of Jack Mordini, who spent nearly four decades at USBC?

BL: Tough shoes to fill, no doubt. Jack contributed a great deal to USBC events and to the industry as a whole. Like Jack, my goal is to continue to keep our events moving forward, in terms of growth, prize money, service level, new cities, venues, look and feel of the events and all aspects including revenue generation.

USBC: We’re starting a new era in the Women’s Championships. How is everything going in El Paso?

BL: The venue is spectacular. Quite a few people have stated this may be one of our best builds ever. The ladies are in for an exciting time. I can tell you the city is rolling out the red carpet, our bowlers and guests will feel very welcome.

USBC: What kind of feedback have you received on the two major changes, the handicap format and the convention center build?

BL: After some initial negative comments about going to all handicap, we have heard very little. Our sense is that the bowlers are going to give this a chance. We are finalizing our estimated prize funds now and the numbers look very good, the prize pools are large. I believe our ladies will be pleasantly surprised by the overall prize distribution. As far as the convention center build, I am not sure most the Women’s Championships bowlers know what to expect. We are looking forward to hearing many people who say, “wow”!

USBC: Out in Reno, at the Open Championships, your team made several changes to the event. Most notably, allowing beverages during competition. How has that decision been received by bowlers on site?

BL: As we expected, the beverage policy at the Open has been well received by the bowlers on-site. There have been no major problems with its implementation or complaints from those who have bowled. Those bowlers who choose to consume a beverage are enjoying it and those who choose not to have a beverage don’t seem to notice a difference.

USBC: A new online tournament registration system was launched recently. How’s that going so far?

BL: We have taken those initial steps to make it more convenient and efficient for bowlers to reserve their spot for next year online. So far we have received an overwhelmingly positive response, with over 50 percent of the Open Championships team captains taking advantage of the online reservations. Our IT folks have put a great amount of time and effort into this to ensure its success. Our next step is to roll-out the next phase in late spring with allowing team captains to enter their roster and pay remaining fees online.

USBC: The Open Championships is going back to Reno in 2011. For those people “on the fence” about a return trip to the National Bowling Stadium, what makes 2011 a tournament they don’t want to miss?

BL: With our great partnership with the city of Reno, we have the Eagle’s Nest program that rewards our team captains returning to Reno in 2011. Remember this includes a give-away of four cars or trucks to those lucky captains. That’s pretty good odds!  In addition to the Eagle’s Nest, Reno itself is constantly changing. Every year there are always new things, shopping, restaurants and the ball park. Also, USBC continues to add features to the tournament, like new brackets products, group check-in, etc. Stay tuned, we may be unveiling some new items for the 2011 tournament, too.

USBC: Some East Coast bowlers get frustrated by all the West Coast locations for the Open Championships. Why don’t you bring that tournament back east more often?

BL: We do get quite a few emails and calls from our eastern bowlers. Most say they do not mind going west, but they want at least an occasional eastern city that they can drive to or take a direct short flight to.  I am an eastern hometown guy myself originally, so I do understand. We continue to pitch our event to many eastern cities. Many of those convention centers big enough to host the event are booked with large events that keep them from bidding.  We will keep on trying. Baton Rouge in 2012 will be a reasonable driving distance for many of our east/Midwest bowlers. We have not given up looking for an East Coast host city.

USBC: Do you have any update on the plan to build a new permanent stadium site near Orlando?

BL: There has been no movement in the Orlando project for over a year. Most of the talk has dissipated for now. USBC continues to be interested, but we are not the sole drivers of this project – there are many entities, including developers that need funding for project. USBC plans to select cities for 2013 and 2014 events. We cannot continue to wait for Orlando.

USBC: What kinds of changes might we see in the future for the Open and Women’s Championships?

BL: As I talked about moving our events forward, you can be sure we will continue to change. Our goal for the Women’s Championships is to look at our new format closely to be sure our bowlers are satisfied. Similarly, we want to continue to make our arena settings fun and exciting for the women. This event is important to USBC and we need to grow it. For the Open, we are on solid ground thanks in large part to our great captains who keep bringing teams year after year, location after location. We need to continue to recognize them. Our Eagle’s Nest program and online registration system are steps in the right direction.

USBC: The Storm Mixed Team Challenge, a series of USBC-run tournaments, was canceled for the rest of this year. Why was it canceled and can we expect its return in the future?

BL: While the Storm Mixed Team Challenge was a popular event, there were not enough entries overall to justify continuing to operate it. There are no plans to bring it back next year. With limited resources, USBC will have to continue to look at each event and measure its overall success in terms of how it touches the membership, profitability, growth and exposure. Each event will be measured individually and need to be viable on its own.

USBC: The two biggest tournaments in women’s bowling are coming this spring, the Queens and U.S. Women’s Open. At the U.S. Women’s Open, we’ve seen some changes in recent years. Any more changes in store for 2010?

BL: The Queens and U.S. Women’s Open continue to be the premier events for our top female bowlers. We have taken steps to make the events differ enough in format to ensure they are not duplicate events. This year, the U.S. Women’s Open goes back to a more traditional format, featuring a 24-game qualifying round and a 24-game round-robin match-play round, leading up to a live TV show in a stepladder format. Both the Queens and the U.S. Women’s Open are true tests for the best female bowers in the world and we are expecting exciting competition as we have seen the recent past.

USBC: With so many important and diverse items ahead for USBC tournaments, what do you see as being the key to success?

BL: Having a skilled and very experienced staff is critical to the success of all our tournaments. Our tournament staff does a great job of focusing on customer service, partnerships with host cities and creating an overall experience for bowlers. If we continue to make our bowlers the priority, success will follow.